Maros Sefcovic: Close EU-NATO cooperation, more necessary than ever in light of threats to democracy

European Commission Vice President for Interinstitutional and Foresight Maros Sefcovic told the Bucharest Forum 2021 on Friday that "in light of current threats to democracy," close cooperation between the EU and NATO is "more necessary" than ever, agerpres reports.

Ensuring the resilience of our democracies must be a joint effort. With strategic forecasts, the EU will strengthen its capacity to counter autocratic tendencies by acting as a credible global player, a security provider and a reliable partner. In this context, NATO has always been a vital partner for the EU, in order to ensure peace and stability in Europe. In light of current threats to democracy, close cooperation between us is more necessary than ever, Sefcovic told the event organized by the Aspen Romania Institute together with the Bucharest Office of the German Marshall Fund of the US and held under the Romanian President's High Patronage.

Maros Sefcovic pointed out that the pressure on democracy and values is a real "mega-trend", given that a third of people live in countries where democracy is declining.

In September 2020, the second strategic forecast report we drafted focused on the geo-political dimension of resilience. (...) We have analyzed four major global trends that will shape the world of tomorrow. These include pressure on democracy and values. The V-Dem report for 2021 describes a worrying situation: 68% of the world's population lives in autocracies. Moreover, a third of people live in states where democracy is declining. Only 4% live in countries that are becoming more democratic. In addition, widespread misinformation, intensified by new online tools and platforms, poses an increasing risk to democratic systems, leading to a new type of information warfare, he said.

According to Sefcovic, this could also have an impact on economies, affecting the reputation and profitability of companies or even financial markets.

In light of these challenges and the growing relevance of hybrid threats, we need to take action. For this reason, our report identified ten specific areas for action, the European Commission official said.

He called for increased trust in institutions, encouraging participatory democracy and civic involvement; ensuring freedom of expression and partnerships with public and private actors around the world that promote democracy and the rule of law; drawing up strategic forecasts.